I brought another GTX 970 yesterday (Same as the 1st MSI Gaming OC) and I SLI ; Working perfect still Crysis 3 is the most demanding game (graphically to me) on 4K - 3840 X 2160 using DSR /Ultra Setting and 2x TXAA I am tipping 55-60 Fps :) ; Sure Call of Duty -Advanced Ware Fare on, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor , Evil With In , Wolfenstein: The New Order are all 4K /Ultra ; linking it to my 40inch Led TV through HDMI with 4K DSR the real power of graphics kick out

To Remove Any Bottle Necks I am Using:
-I7 4790 @ 3.6 GHZ
-16 GB Ram 1666 MHZ
-Z97 Chipset
-One Side 140mm Fan for Direct VGA Cooling
-Games are Installed on SSD - 512 GB Crucial 100MX
-PSU: Thermal Take Tough Power Fully Modular - 80 Plus Gold Certified / SLI Certified


-The System Runs Very Stable ; with No Heat Issues (I am monitoring the GPUs Temperatures / Voltages) via MSI After Burn 4.0 ; the Smart Cooling of MSI Twin Frazor 5.0 is really great combined with the Heat / power efficiency of the Maxwell GM 204 which is great for SLI much better compared to AMDs R9s R8s and R9s and Nvidia Kepler on the 7 Series (Tried All).

I can say I am future for couple of year (2-3 years) - Just Saying :) since the issue now is the Vram as more games being released playing on 4ks with Ultra Textures are tipping the 4 GB Ceiling on some games (even in 1440p) ; as such Nvidia will release soon the 8GB Vram version of the GTX 970 and 980s Plus the 1080 and 1070 will be released in the future with 8GB Vram by Default as reports
being lately emerged started to indicate.

Let us wait and see if First off, we should see the R9 390X being the first GPU to be built on TSMC's new 20nm manufacturing process, but the card is rumored to arrive with High Bandwidth Memory, or HBM. HBM is 3D stacked memory technology that will offer an incredible amount of bandwidth on the already-fast GDDR5 tech that is used, with around 100% more bandwidth, all while using less power which might remove this bottle neck -This new memory technology is AMD's & Hynix's answer to supplying the next generation of APUs & GPUs with the necessary memory bandwidth to reach maximum performance, essentially eliminating one of the major bottlenecks of GPU compute present today.

HBM stands for High Bandwidth Memory, and it's made essentially by stacking multiple memory chips on top of each other via die-stacking technology, creating a 3D memory structure made up of a large number of memory floors. ; but I am an Nvidia loyal - The Volta GPU will introduce stacked DRAM (dynamic random access memory which I think they getting the Tech from Nvidia this time lool - competitors game since AMD will release HBM Compatible GPUs in the 1st Quarter of 2015 in R9390 before Nvidia Release on the next Volta Architecture in 4th Quarter of 2014 ). On a technical level, this is accomplished by having multiple layers of DRAM stacked atop each other on the same silica substrate, then drilling a hole through the silicon and connecting each layer.


1TB/s of memory bandwidth means you could move the contents of a jam-packed Blu-ray disc through the chip in a mere 1/50th of a second. Consider that NVIDIA’s Titan GPU — its latest high-end graphics card — can handle about 288GB/s, and you can only imagine the positive implications for a wide range of people depending on graphics processing horsepower, from game developers to graphic artists

Important Note:
-HBM doesn't increase bandwidth by raising memory frequency similar to GDDR5 rather by significantly increasing the number of channels through which the data can travel. Similarly HBM is slower than GDDR5 in terms of frequency but can move orders of magnitude more data in the same time period as GDDR5
Where are you getting your cards from??
I was going to ask the same question :D
Anyone tried the GTX 970 with an i5 first gen like the 750?
You told me to upgrade my 650yi Boost OC to 970 instead of the CPU but I am seeing that my CPU can bottleneck the 970 in some games like BF4 :(
This means bye bye +60fps in games with 1440p DSR?
My budget is very limited now because of no-job period so it's either upgrading my CPU to newest i5 or GTX 970
@AVOlio @Ramnesia - I am getting them from UAE- Dubai , I have my people who scouts in local desktop/laptop shops - the demand is too high there but you can bargain with Indian sellers who reduce the price too and when they come to Lebanon they will get me one with to eliminate shipment/customs costs/time head over.

@vegetaleb
I think it is Time to upgrade to an i7 to be more future proof -I5 is great but as days passes it will show some drawbacks ; Currently at 1440p DSR the i5 will bottleneck but with a small margin (about 3-4 FPS) compared to i7 Haswell ; However, more demanding games are being released which are / and will become both GPU and CPU Bound
+ Installing Games on SSD makes the overall experience smoother (reduced load times / minimized FPS Spikes / Reduction of Shutters)

Note: ETA to Lebanon of the GTX 980 and GTX 970 is by next year - I called -Middle East IT
Phone: 04 406506
Jal el Dib Highway Mozart Chahine Bulding

Which are considered one of the main suppliers of hardware in the Lebanese market and they pointed that.
So in conclusion it's btter for me now to upgrade to GTX970 instead of CPU as I am tight in budget,in a couple of months when I will get a job again I will complete the system upgrade with an i7 then.
I have to so much expenses next month between mecanique fees, car's revision and Christmas gifts!
@Tech guru i have a friend right now in Dubai and he is going to stay for 5 days, do you know a good shop to get a 970 from ?
how about prices ? is it anywhere near amazon.com ? or am i better of shipping it from amazon to my other friend in Saudi arabia ?
Guys.
Earlier in this thread i wrote a post, about getting one of these cards.
Let me post it again, and i hope some of you would be kinds enough to implement it,if you have the chance.
AVOlio wrote
Guys, if anyone will travel or Is already in a travel.
And has the ability to bring a second GPU with them, please do announce it in the forum.
I am sure the forum members will Gladly pay you a small fee for your trouble instead of feeding them to customs!

Thanks.
So nobody want to buy from dot.com.lb a Zotac GTX 970 for 410$ with me?
Di you have a link for the actual product ?
i didnt like it it's almost a reference edition ... the way i see it, if im going to invest more than $350 in a GPU i prefer to get the better cared if its a matter of small additional amount of money, i would simply pay a little more and get the better card
Well you can get the MSI Gaming for 350$ which is a very good card for OC lovers but it's out of stock and can be like that till 2015!
Today I received my Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming, It took 7 days with DHL/Borderlinx.
Shipping charge: 5.94$ (Fuel Surcharge)
33$ (Freight Charge)
5$ (Insurance)
Total=43.94$

Our beloved customs: 19.90$ (Customs duty)
7.30$ (Clearance charges)
1.33$ (Stamp Duty)
1.99$ (Customs overtime, the really deserve it :D )
41.79$ (VAT 10% on value + custom duties) BLA BLA BLA
0.73$ (VAT 10% on clearance charge) BLA BLA BLA
0.20$ (VAT 10% on customs overtime) BLA BLA BLA
Total= 73.24$

And got a free game.
Customs rule!!
How much was the card?
Maxwell architecture is amazing, i overclocked the Gigabyte GTX 970 to 1524MHz from 1380MHz actual boost without even raising the voltage of the card and set the memory to +390MHz (I've seen +500MHz on other cards, mine isn't that lucky) all of that and the temp remained under 64C and my max TDP used was 85% of 112%. This is really great. Next I am planning to raise the voltage and see where i can get.
The best thing you can do is order it from amazon they are available again and ship it using borderlinx.